A muzzle brake is a device (e.g., an attachment) that attaches to a muzzle of a firearm. Typically, muzzle brakes are designed to reduce felt recoil that occurs when firing the firearm. Muzzle brakes reduce the felt recoil by venting expanding propellant gases in a direction transverse to the direction of extension of a barrel of the firearm through vents in the muzzle brake attachment located at the end of the barrel of the firearm. This results in the reduction of the felt recoil and consequently improves muzzle control.
However, muzzle brakes generally increase the volume of gas directed to the sides and rearward towards the shooter, resulting in a significant concussion affect. For this reason, a user may not desire to use the muzzle brake at a range, for example, when the user may be around other people who may have adverse reactions to the increased volume of gas directed toward the side and rear of the firearm. Therefore, the user may have to remove the muzzle brake while shooting at a range or around other people. On the other hand, the user may desire to use the same firearm for precise target shooting (e.g., shooting competition, hunting, etc.) and, having removed it for the range, would have to reinstall the muzzle brake. This may be undesirable because adding or removing a muzzle brake may significantly change the point of impact.
Thus, a solution is desired for a single muzzle brake device that may be implemented in a variety of different scenarios. Additionally, it is desired that such a solution would allow users to easily configure the muzzle brake device between different operating functions to accommodate the specific need.